Old Sloop Coffeehouse Presents Chelsea Berry with Anna Dagmar

Chelsea Berry is a singer/songwriter with incredible edge, power, and finesse. Her presence has been described by listeners as “compelling… she draws the entire house into her world like moths to a flame.” Her vocals are controlled, smooth, and intensely powerful. Her original lyrics are reminiscent of the folk music of the sixties.

Chelsea was born and raised in Alaska, and made her way through Montana, Nashville, and Chicago before settling in the Boston area 3 years ago. Her music is played regularly on Sirius XM’s The Loft radio, and she has been played on Boston’s 92.5 The River, WXGR and WSCA in Portsmouth, NH, and many other stations in the Northeast.

Chelsea has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Shalin Liu Performance Center, the House of Blues in Boston, and the Circle of Friends and me&thee coffeehouses. Chelsea has shared the stage with Cheryl Wheeler, Livingston Taylor, Chris Smither, Roger McGuinn, Patty Larkin, Vance Gilbert, Buskin & Batteau, Jill Sobule, Marshall Crenshaw, and many others.

This will mark Chelsea’s fourth appearance at Old Sloop Coffeehouse. She performed for enthusiastic crowds in January and June of 2010 and June of 2011. Chelsea also sang with the First Congregational Church chancel choir for a few months in 2006 or so!

Learn more about Chelsea Berry at http://www.chelseaberry.com.

Anna Dagmar was three albums into a critically acclaimed songwriting career weaving together colorful jazz harmonies, inviting pop melodies and refined classical piano textures. Then she stepped into the folk community, where she learned how to lift a personal story to a universal truth. This summer, the NYC-based pianist, arranger and singer-songwriter releases a new album, matched in music and narrative, Satellite.

Dagmar garnered widespread recognition for her previous album, Let The Waves Come In Threes (2009). It charted #6 on the National Roots Music Report with spins on over 100 stations nationwide. DJ George Graham of WVIA called it, “one of the best singer-songwriter albums of the year.” Recently, Dagmar was chosen as a Kerrville New Folk Finalist and Gold Prize Winner of the Mid’Atlantic Songwriting Contest for the haunting Satellite track, “We Were Children.” She has been favorably compared to Joni Mitchell, Billy Joel, Judy Collins, and Regina Spector, and cites inspirations including George Gershwin, Anais Mitchell, Sufjan Stevens and Jonatha Brooke.

There is an openness flowing through Satellite, making it accessible lyrically, emotionally, and musically. Dagmar’s boldly intimate writing and her comfort with both producer Ben Wittman (Lucy Kaplansky, Paula Cole, Patty Larkin) and her A-list studio band, imbues Satellite with poise and a sense of liberating adventurousness. “On this album, the songs are real and vulnerable,” Dagmar says reflectively, “I’m revealing myself not just as a musician, but as a person.”

Learn more about Anna Dagmar at http://www.annadagmar.com.

Tickets: $10

Day of show suggested contribution: $12
65 or over: $7, under 18: $5, family: $24

Old Sloop Coffeehouse is an outreach project of the First Congregational Church. It seeks to offer good music in a variety of styles at affordable prices in a friendly and welcoming environment. Coffee, tea, and a variety of baked goods are available. Performances are in the church’s handicap-accessible Fellowship Hall.

All performances are general admission. Unless otherwise noted, performances begin at 7:30 PM and end around 10:00 PM, and doors open 30 minutes before the scheduled start of the performance.

Tickets for most concerts cost $10 if purchased in advance. At the door, the usual suggested contribution is $12 for adults, $7 for those 65 and over, $5 for those under 18, and $24 for a family. Tickets may be purchased in advance from this web site, from the box office, which is open during intermissions at Old Sloop Coffeehouse concerts, from Gloucester Music, and from Toad Hall Bookstore.